Imagine reading a map or email on a head-up display right in front of your eyes — it sounds like something from a sci-fi novel, but it’s one of the many possible future uses for contact lenses that has been predicted through current and emerging research.
“People typically think of contact lenses as just another way of correcting poor vision and being an alternative to spectacles. However, over the past decade we have seen tremendous developments in the potential for contacts to detect eye and systemic disease, in addition to delivering drugs to manage these diseases,” says Dr. Lyndon Jones, lead author of the research paper Contact Lens Technologies of the Future, which compiles evidence pointing to the many current and future capabilities of contact lenses. “We already have electronic contacts that can screen for glaucoma, treat itchy eyes due to allergies and photochromic contacts to protect the wearer from bright lights.”
Learn more about the trajectory of current research of contact lenses on WaterlooNews.